Page 15 - Royal Roads University Spring Convocation

HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENT
J. PETER MEEKISON, OC, PhD
June 13, 2017, 9:30 A.M.
Dr. J. Peter Meekison is a distinguished Canadian academic and public servant who had a significant role in the shaping of the modern Canadian constitution and an enduring influence on post- secondary education in western Canada.
Meekison serves as adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Victoria and is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Alberta. He served on the Royal Roads University Board of Governors from 2008 to 2013, was acting vice-president (academic) and provost in 2009, and was chancellor and board chair from 2010 to 2013.
At the University of Alberta, he was vice-president (academic) for six years; served as chair of the Political Science department and associate dean of Graduate Studies; and held the Belzberg Chair in Constitutional Studies (Faculty of Law).
In the seventies, Meekison served as Deputy Minister of Alberta Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs and participated in numerous federal-level negotiations with respect to the Constitution Act, 1982 and the National Energy Program.
Meekison was recognized as the architect of what became the amending formula of the Constitution Act, 1982. As constitutional adviser to Alberta for more than 20 years, Meekison was also involved in discussions leading to both the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords.
In 1993, he was appointed by the Government of Canada to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. This commission and its final report have been key in furthering relationships between Indigenous people and the rest of Canadian society. The report touched on self-government, land claims, economic development, health, housing, education and justice.
An Officer of the Order of Canada, Meekison has received numerous awards including the Queen’s Golden and Silver Jubilee medals, the 125th Anniversary of Canada Medal and the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Excellence in Public Administration for the Province of Alberta.
He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from the University of British Columbia, a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario and a PhD in Political Science from Duke University. He has received honorary degrees from the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia (Okanagan).
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